Background: Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian Boru defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is being implemented with some difficulties. To Be Updated
May 9th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Kilkenny » Kilkenny Wow, Kilkenny Hostel is sensational. It’s a small castle with a stone wall surrounding a beautiful garden. Our room is in a little room built into the wall of the garden. Walking through arched ... [full story]
May 8th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Limerick ...not really, so on our way we stopped by Bunratty Castle. Mainly so the kids could see what these old castles would have looked like when people actually lived in them and the houses of the villager ... [full story]
May 8th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Meath Our original plan was to drive into Dublin, see the sites and then drop Jessie at the bus station to head back to Galway. We decided to skip Dublin since we had been told it is near impossible to driv ... [full story]
May 7th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Meath We started the day off with our typical full Irish breakfast, except this B&B also offered black and white pudding. I was brave enough to try the puddings, but Pam and Jessica decided to pass. I found ... [full story]
May 6th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Meath Today was another travel day. We left Ballycastle to head back into the Republic. We passed through Armagh, the religious center of Ireland. St. Patrick established the first Christian church in Irela ... [full story]
May 3rd 2008Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Killarney With Jessica's school requirements completed, today was the day for the Ring of Kerry. We needed to start out early because we had a long trip ahead of us. We picked Jessica up at about 8:30am (yes, ... [full story]
May 7th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Clare » Cliffs of Moher We went for a drive around the countryside this morning. Boy there’s lots of stones in Ireland. Stones and sheep. We drove towards The Cliffs of Moher to have a look. As we’ve found out ev ... [full story]
May 5th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Aran Islands As we biked along the azure coast of Inishmore (the largest of the Aran islands) off the West Coast of Galway, we basked in the sun’s warm glow and drank in our idyllic surroundings; stone walls ... 45 photos[full story]
May 8th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Dublin » Dublin Thursday May 8th
Train to Charles de Gaulle airport and flew to Dublin in 1 hour 20mins. Bus to Dublin with everyone else. Then a cab to our lovely hotel. Our cabbie told us all about the best sig ... 4 photos[full story]
May 6th 2008Europe » Ireland » County Clare We’ve arrived in Lahinch, 1 ½ hours south of Galway. It’s a really cute little seaside village. The weather is perfect about 22c, as it has been for the last couple of days. And our hostel ... [full story]
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